Ultimate Drivers Weekend Preview: New Year, New Steelheads
Finishing Strong
The Brampton Steelheads (15-14-4-0) close off their 2024 calendar year on Tuesday when they host the Sudbury Wolves (17-10-5-0) for their New Year’s Eve game. It will be the second time these clubs collide this season with the Steelheads falling in overtime in the previous matchup. With the Wolves having defeated the Trout in the 2024 playoffs, the Steelheads will look to end the year with some revenge.
Staying disciplined will be top priority for the Steelheads this Tuesday. Sudbury boasts a top-five power play which accounted for three of their five goals in this season’s prior matchup. Limiting man advantage opportunities for the Wolves will make life a lot easier for the Steelheads. Brampton found success of their own on the power play against Sudbury, as they struck twice on the man advantage. The Steelheads will look for similar success on Tuesday as they look to finish the year strong.
The Trout will look for their depth to continue to step up in order to beat a tough Wolves team. A strong game from Chase Lefebvre (2A) helped them force overtime in their last meeting, and they hope for him to play at a similar level again on Tuesday. The Overage forward enters the week on a high after playing his best game as Steelhead recording three points (1G, 2A) in Saturday’s win over Ottawa.
Tomorrow’s game is your last chance to grab a Steelheads Holiday Pack—get 4 tickets and 4 toques for just $125! Don’t miss out on the fun by securing your tickets today! Plus, the Family 4-Pack is also available for the New Year’s Eve game.
New Year’s Resolution
On New Year’s Day, the Steelheads travel northeast for a rematch with the Kingston Frontenacs (17-10-5-2). The Fronts got the best of Brampton in the middle of a triple header back in early November. The Trout will look to start the new year on the right foot by evening the season series with Kingston.
Thankfully for Brampton, the Frontenacs will be missing a pair of fantastic Finns in Tuomas Uronen and Emil Pieniniemi. The Dynamic Duo sit amongst the top of the import scoring leaderboard with both players recording over a point per game so far this season, including two points each against the Trout. Both skaters will miss this contest in order to represent Finland at the World Juniors in Ottawa.
The Steelheads will look for Luke Misa to lead the way against Kingston. On Saturday the Oakville native returned to the scoresheet for the 22nd time in the past 24 games. It has been a stellar year for the Calgary Flames prospect, who recently overtook the franchise lead for career assists by a Steelhead. Misa will look to return to the scoresheet yet again, as he continues to chase down James Hardie’s points record.
You can catch all the road action by tuning in to watch.chl.ca or listening on Sauga960.
Faceoff with Flint
On Saturday the Steelheads return home to host the Flint Firebirds (16-16-1-1). It will be the first time Brampton and Flint faceoff this season. Last year Flint came out victorious in both games of the season series. The Steelheads will look to flip this year’s series in their favour as they continue to build momentum in the new year.
The Firebirds have a new core this season after making a flurry of moves in the offseason. On the first day of the offseason, Flint acquired Christopher Thibodeau from the Kingston Frontenacs in exchange for a multitude of draft picks. They were not done yet though, as later in the day they made another blockbuster move, adding Matthew Mania, Nolan Collins, Evan Konyen and Josh Colosimo from the Sudbury Wolves. Lastly, Flint flipped star defenceman Tristan Bertucci for Artem Frolov, Urban Podrekar, Hayden Reid and draft picks. It took some time to gel, but the Firebirds have been playing better as of late climbing to the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
The Steelheads will look for their depth to overpower the Firebirds. Gabriel Chiarot’s emergence has helped the Steelheads’ offence stay afloat in the absences of Porter Martone, Carson Rehkopf, and Adam Zidlicky. The power forward has scored five goals in his last six games heading into the weekend. If he can stay hot the Steelheads should be able to outscore the Firebirds.
You will not want to miss the first home game of 2025, so grab your tickets here!
